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What is your lifestyle like as a community manager recently out of college?

Most of our students are very interested in how their "whole" life will look even outside of work. Given the hours you work, the compensation you get, and the stresses / joys of your job as a community manager, what does your after-work lifestyle look like? Is there time for family? For friends? For self? For travel?

_This is part of a question series for CMX Summit to highlight exciting careers in community management. If you are interested in a career in community management, now would be a good time to ask a question of your own!_ #community-management

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Tara’s Answer

Life out of college can be daunting but you are entering a world of possibilities. Remember that just because you graduated you never stop learning. My life out of college has been filled with learning experiences that have allowed me to grow professionally and personally. I pursued a career in retail-banking but then was quickly given the opportunity to work in community-banking by implementing wealth-management platforms. While this is not the job I intend to work my whole life it was a fantastic stepping stone. This job allowed me to pay off debt, travel the world multiple times, and I learned valuable business lessons that I will take with me through out my life. I now run my own online clothing business. Outside of work I have taken interest in fitness like kickboxing and spin class, I spend a lot of time with my family and I still travel quite a bit. It's important to maintain a good work life balance so you don't burnout right out of college. Also, it's important to find hobbies outside of work that you enjoy, you never know they may turn into a business like mine did.
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Stephen’s Answer

As a former community manager (I now manage a team of community manager), what after-work life looks like depends on the company you work for. To put it in an analogy, writing in college feels more like sprints while writing on the job is a marathon. That said, marathon runners need rest, and smart companies prioritize work-life balance to help keep their runners strong. A good company and a good manager will work with you on your goals for work-life balance, so in my career search I'd look for a company that's transparent about goals and expectations. I was lucky to have this in my roles.

Community management was energizing for me whenever I got to connect with a community. Even if I wrote about something I personally didn't pursue in my personal time (like reading Jane Austen novels -- yes, I wrote for a company that wished to promote this), it brought me absolute joy seeing their community react to content centered around that. While negative comments can at times feel draining, there's also joy in resolving customer issues and winning them back.
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